ANNOUNCER: And now -- a tale well-calculated to keep you in-- MUSIC: CHORD ANNOUNCER: --SUSPENSE! In a moment, Act One of "The Silver Shoe," written especially for SUSPENSE by Robert Readick. MUSIC: EERIE ROMANTIC INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND JOEY-- JOEY: (NARRATES) There are some things that you just take for granted. I mean, you don't question 'em. Like if somebody dies and you've been to the funeral and watched 'em lower the coffin into the grave. You just gotta say to yourself, "Well, that's the way it is. It's all over." Maybe, if you care a lot for somebody, like I did for Cory, maybe they go on livin', in a way, in your mind. Not really livin', but-- Well, kind of livin' in your thoughts or your memory; your dreams. But that's all. So when I saw this girl sittin' in a drugstore two years after Cory's funeral-- Well, naturally, I had to figure she was somebody who just happened to look a lot like her. I mean, wouldn't you? MUSIC: ACCENT ... THEN BEHIND JOEY-- SOUND: DRUGSTORE BACKGROUND (DINERS MURMUR, CASH REGISTER, UTENSILS, ET CETERA) JOEY: (NARRATES) I wouldn't have been shocked if she'd just been sittin' there at the counter drinkin' her coffee. But she was doin' somethin' that-- Well, I guess I'd seen Cory do a hundred times. She was holdin' a spoon upside down, dabbin' little strokes with it on her napkin, like it was a paintbrush. Drawin' imaginary little pictures on it. And when she spoke to the counterman, it was with Cory's own sweet, familiar voice. CORY: Will you let me have a check, please? COUNTERMAN: Sure. What'd you have? CORY: Uh, egg salad sandwich and coffee. COUNTERMAN: Okay. Fifty cents, beautiful. MUSIC: EERIE ... THEN IN BG-- JOEY: (NARRATES) I guessed I must have looked pretty strange standin' there starin' at her, but I couldn't help myself. COUNTERMAN: You want somethin', buddy? JOEY: Huh? Oh. Yeah, a cup o' coffee. COUNTERMAN: Cup o' coffee, comin' up. JOEY: (NARRATES) I couldn't take my eyes off her. I watched her pay the check -- watched every movement she made, every step she took as she walked out of the door. SOUND: CORY'S STEPS TO DOOR WHICH OPENS MUSIC: OUT BEHIND-- JOEY: (NARRATES) And they were Cory's movements. Cory's steps. Every one of them. SOUND: DOOR CLOSES ... DRUGSTORE BACKGROUND UP COUNTERMAN: Kind o' cute, huh? JOEY: (DISTRACTED) What? COUNTERMAN: Nice-lookin' chick. JOEY: Uh, does she come in here a lot? COUNTERMAN: Eh, once in a while. She's one of the dames works down the street at the dance hall. Here's your coffee. JOEY: (QUICKLY) Thanks, I don't want it. Here's your dime. COUNTERMAN: Huh? (REALIZES, AMUSED) Oh ho! Sure, Tiger. MUSIC: EERIE ... THEN IN BG-- JOEY: (NARRATES) I followed her. I had to. SOUND: JOEY'S STEPS TO DOOR WHICH OPENS AND CLOSES ... CITY TRAFFIC BACKGROUND ... JOEY'S STEPS ALONG SIDEWALK JOEY: (NARRATES) A few doors away, there was an entrance lit up with a lot of neon and stuff sayin' it was a dance hall, and I saw her walk into it. I felt kind o' funny about followin' her, but-- Well, somehow I couldn't do anything else. SOUND: TRAFFIC OUT AS JOEY'S STEPS ENTER DANCE HALL MUSIC: CHANGES TO LANGUID DANCE TUNE ... CONTINUES IN BG SOUND: DANCE HALL BACKGROUND (DANCE HALL GIRLS AND PATRONS MURMUR, ET CETERA) JOEY: (NARRATES) Inside, there was this sort of pink ceilin' over a long flight of stone steps leadin' down into the dance hall. Well, I bought a ticket at a little booth at the bottom and then I went into this big room where the music was playin'. SOUND: JOEY'S STEPS INTO BALLROOM JOEY: (NARRATES) I didn't see her anywhere, but a bunch of other girls came runnin' up to the railin' and started callin' out to me. MURIEL: Come here, sailor! I wanna talk to you! GIRL: Hey, ain't he cute? MURIEL: (CHUCKLES) You got a cigarette, sailor? JOEY: Well, sure. GIRL: (MOVES OFF, COMPLAINS) Muriel always gets the pretty ones. MURIEL: (LAUGHS, BEAT) What made you pick me, honey? (NO ANSWER) Hey, I asked you, sailor, what made you pick me? JOEY: (NERVOUS AND DISTRACTED THROUGHOUT SCENE) Well, I - I-- MURIEL: I can't see very well to smoke this when it isn't lit. How 'bout you dig down in your bell bottoms, honey, and bring a lady up a match? JOEY: I - I keep 'em up here in my breast pocket. MURIEL: Well, good for you. (CHUCKLES) SOUND: MATCH STRUCK MURIEL: (EXHALES) Did you notice the sign over the entrance, honey? "Fifty girls"? "Fifty gorgeous exotic dancing partners"? JOEY: Huh? MURIEL: Well, of course, even when this joint is jumpin' there's only twenty-two of us, but I mean the other part. Do you think I'm gorgeous and exotic, honey? Is that why you picked me? JOEY: (EXHALES, STAMMERS) I don't think I know what you mean. MURIEL: You know what gorgeous means, don't ya? JOEY: Well, sure. MURIEL: And exotic means weird, honey; strange. Come on, baby, buy me some tickets. And while you're out there on the floor, hold me tight in your arms and you can tell me how exotic I am. JOEY: Well, I really came in here lookin' for somebody else. She's about five foot three and has light brown hair and blue eyes. MURIEL: Ha! Just like half the girls in America. Besides, if you don't see her, she ain't here. Who told you she worked here, anyway? JOEY: (AN INSPIRATION) Here. This picture in my wallet. She looks like this girl. MURIEL: (BEAT AS SHE LOOKS AT PICTURE) No, somebody's kiddin' you! We ain't got nobody here looks like that. JOEY: Oh, but I saw her come in here. MURIEL: Look, I oughta know. I've been workin' here for four years. I tell you, we got no girl like that. Now, why don't you just forget her and concentrate on me? Anything the matter with me? JOEY: Oh, no. No, it's just that-- MURIEL: You bet there ain't! (CHUCKLES) Now, don't you run away, sailor. I'm goin' in and powder my nose. And don't let any of these other dames latch on to ya. (SEDUCTIVE) And when I come back, I'll show you the way a patriotic lady treats the Navy. MUSIC: SWEET DANCE TUNE ... UP, TO FILL A PAUSE ... THEN IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) She walked away. I began to figure maybe I was mistaken after all about seein' Cory -- or this girl -- comin' in here. That maybe I'd lost her on the street. That it was somebody else I'd seen in the neon light. And I was just about to leave -- when I saw her again, sittin' alone at a table in a half-darkened corner clear across the room. She was dressed different now, in a sort of spangly silver gown that left her shoulders bare. She looked just like Cory did the night I took her to the McKendricks' ball. In a sort of a daze, I walked across the dance floor and over to the table where she was sitting. I guess she was thinkin' about somethin' 'cause she didn't look up until I was just about standin' next to her. (BEAT, TO CORY) Hi. CORY: Hi, yourself. JOEY: I saw ya upstairs at the drugstore. CORY: Did you? JOEY: Yeah. (NARRATES) She had a strange expression on her face. Kind of like I figured mine must have looked -- sort of surprised, like she couldn't quite believe what she was seein'. CORY: You know somethin'? JOEY: Hm? CORY: When I first looked up just now, it was almost like I knew you from somewhere. Knew you real well. You seem to remind me of someone. I - I can't remember who. (NERVOUS CHUCKLE) Gives me a funny feeling, you know what I mean? MUSIC: DANCE HALL BAND HAS SWITCHED TO A SLIGHTLY LIVELIER TUNE ... UP, TO FILL A PAUSE ... THEN IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) She told me to buy her some dance tickets at the little booth. Well, I did. And then I came back and I sat down with her at her table. I told her of how she reminded me so much of someone, too. (TO CORY, STAMMERS) I - I've got a photograph of her. I'll show it to ya. SOUND: PULLS OUT PHOTO JOEY: There. That's Cory. (BEAT, SLOWLY) Well, doesn't she look--? CORY: (STUNNED) Yeah. Yeah, she does. JOEY: I'm sorry about followin' ya down here from the drugstore, but-- CORY: Oh, that's all right, Joey. You don't have to apologize. I understand. JOEY: How did you know my name? CORY: What? JOEY: You called me by my name. How did--? CORY: Oh, is your name Joey? JOEY: Yeah, it is. CORY: Oh, well, that's just a habit of mine. I call all sailors Joey 'til I get to know 'em a little. JOEY: How come? CORY: Oh, I don't know. Just like that. Look, let's dance, huh? JOEY: (STAMMERS) Well, I don't dance very well. I-- CORY: Oh, that's all right, Joey. Just - just hold me. MUSIC: UP, TO FILL A PAUSE ... THEN IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) And then she took my hand in the same sweet, special way that Cory had a hundred times -- a thousand times before. Gently. Tenderly. With her fingers lightly laced in mine. MUSIC: DURING ABOVE, DANCE TUNE GIVES WAY TO AN EXTRAVAGANTLY EERIE AND ROMANTIC MOOD THAT CONTINUES IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) I remembered that day more than two years ago, when I was standin', leanin' against the outside wall of my house. My eyes were closed because the sun was bright, and my head was back 'cause it was nice and warm on my neck. And while I was standin' there like that, Cory came over and quietly stood beside me that way, the same way, with her head back and all, and she gently took my hand and laced her fingers in mine. And she said, so softly that I almost couldn't hear her-- CORY: (YOUNGER THAN BEFORE, MORE INNOCENT) It must be lovely on the beach. JOEY: (NARRATES) And I thought to myself, "Yeah, or on the dunes." And just as if she could read my mind, she said-- CORY: Or on the dunes. JOEY: (NARRATES) And the next thing I remember, I was lyin' on a blanket, in a hollow, with sand knolls all around, and the sun was blazin' hot. Nice, though. And Cory turned over on the blanket, put her face next to mine, and - and she said-- CORY: I love you, Joey. And when we're old enough, I want to marry you and have three children, and live in a nice little house, and have many friends, and books to read, and records on the phonograph. And I want to die -- with you in my arms. JOEY: (NARRATES) And then she cried. MUSIC: ABRUPTLY CHANGES TO LANGUID DANCE TUNE SOUND: ABRUPT RETURN OF DANCE HALL BACKGROUND JOEY: (NARRATES) I suddenly realized that I was holding this other girl in my arms. That we were dancing. CORY: (MATURE AGAIN, SURPRISED) Where did you learn that step? JOEY: What? CORY: The one you just did. JOEY: Why, I don't know. Just kind of like it. CORY: Well, you said you couldn't dance. JOEY: Well, not very well usually. CORY: Seems to me we dance just fine together. Comfortable and easy. Like two people who've-- JOEY: --danced together a lot? CORY: Yeah. You're not twenty-one, are you? JOEY: No, twenty. CORY: Oh, you're supposed to be twenty-one to come in here. JOEY: Oh. CORY: Oh, well, we won't tell 'em, will we? Truth is, I'm only twenty myself, but they don't know that. JOEY: Oh, is that right? CORY: Uh huh. JOEY: Gee, that's just the age Cory would-- (CATCHES HIMSELF) I'm sorry. I just can't help it. CORY: Of course you can't. JOEY: You're so much like her, I-- CORY: Oh, it's all right, Joey. I understand. You know, all the time we've been dancing, I've been lost in memories, too. JOEY: Yeah? CORY: Yeah, but mine are funny, and - and they're vague. I keep getting a certain picture in my mind that makes no sense. JOEY: What do you mean? CORY: Well, I see myself with a boy -- the one you remind me of -- in a park. JOEY: Yeah? CORY: It's very quiet and the full moon lights up his face. But I can't figure out who he is. The picture's clear -- we're standin' together looking up at a statue. The strange thing is, I don't seem to remember anything like that ever happening to me. I guess it did, but I just can't seem to remember. JOEY: (BEAT, NARRATES) But I could remember it. MUSIC: EXTRAVAGANTLY EERIE ROMANTIC MOOD RETURNS ABRUPTLY ... CONTINUES IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) I could remember it very well. (BEAT) It was two years ago. And I was walkin' in Heatherton Park with Cory. There was a bright moon. Nobody else was there; nobody in the whole park. And she stopped before the statue of Daniel Porter -- who, it said, contributed more to the development of somethin' or other than any other man in the state. She looked up at it, as if she were gonna mention something about it. She said-- CORY: Dr. King says I'm not well. JOEY: (NARRATES) And I could tell from the way she said it that it was serious. (BEAT) We walked through the park without sayin' another word. And the next day she went away to the sanitarium. And three months later, she was dead. MUSIC: ABRUPT SWITCH TO A LIVELY DANCE TUNE ... THEN IN BG SOUND: ABRUPT RETURN OF DANCE HALL BACKGROUND CORY: (WORRIED) Joey, what is it? JOEY: Hm? CORY: What's wrong? JOEY: (NARRATES) She was asking me what was wrong. It was impossible to tell her. I was frightened. I tried to tell myself that there were other parks, other statues, other moonlit nights, but somehow I knew-- CORY: Joey, you look pale. What's the matter with you? JOEY: (AGITATED) Could we go back and sit down? CORY: Sure, come on. Don't you feel well? JOEY: I'll be all right. SOUND: JOEY AND CORY RETURN TO THEIR TABLE DURING FOLLOWING-- JOEY: That - that park you pictured in your mind; that statue--? CORY: Yeah? JOEY: You were standin' with some fella, lookin' up at a statue-- (QUICKLY) Where was the moon?! Low? Just - just over his shoulder? CORY: What? JOEY: Was the moon sort of low in the sky, like it was sittin' there right over the shoulder of the statue? CORY: Well, yes, I think it was. How could you know that? JOEY: (STAMMERS) And were you holding his hand? CORY: Yeah. JOEY: With your fingers locked in his like-- MUSIC: EXTRAVAGANTLY ROMANTIC MOOD SWEEPS IN ABRUPTLY ... CONTINUES IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) And then suddenly I saw it. Cupped in her open palm. A small silver medallion that I'd made for Cory three years before. I'd cast it myself with a makeshift crucible and molds. She used to wear it on a chain. MUSIC: ABRUPT SWITCH TO A LIVELY DANCE TUNE ... THEN IN BG SOUND: ABRUPT RETURN OF DANCE HALL BACKGROUND JOEY: What is that?! Where did you get that?! CORY: (CONFUSED) What? JOEY: That thing in your hand! Let me see it! (SAVAGELY) Give it to me! CORY: Joey, what are you--? JOEY: (INSANELY) Give it to me! CORY: (SHRIEKS, CONTINUES TO GASP BEHIND--) SOUND: BRIEF SCUFFLE JOEY: (NARRATES) I lunged across the table, grabbed it from her, but my hand struck against hers and she dropped it. (TO CORY, IN A PANIC) Wh-where is it?! Where did it fall?! CORY: What did you do that for? What are you doing? JOEY: It's too dark, I can't find it! Where did it fall?! CORY: Oh, Joey-- JOEY: (SCREAMING) Lights! Gimme some lights! CORY: Joey! MUSIC: OUT AS BAND STOPS PLAYING JOEY: (LOW, INTENSE) How did you get that medallion? How did you get it? CORY: Medallion? I had a coin in my hand. What are you talking about? JOEY: That was no coin. Don't you think I can see? BAILEY: (APPROACHES, GRUFF) What's the matter? This guy drunk? CORY: No. JOEY: (IMPATIENT) Will you turn some lights on? BAILEY: Now, listen, pal-- CORY: Mr. Bailey, it's all right. BAILEY: You sure? CORY: Yeah. BAILEY: (TO CORY) Okay, Muriel, but-- (TO JOEY) Ya better take it easy, sailor. (MOVING OFF) We don't want no trouble here. CORY: Oh, Joey, you don't know this place. You make any trouble and they'll-- JOEY: What is this all about? What are you trying to do to me? CORY: Will you listen to me for a minute? JOEY: What are ya lyin' to me for? I saw it. I saw it in your hand. SOUND: DANCE HALL BACKGROUND GENTLY FADES OUT BEHIND-- CORY: Look, Joey, I mean it. You make any trouble or anything and they'll call the shore patrol. They will. Now, look, let's get out of here, okay? I'll turn in my tickets and change my clothes. We're not supposed to take dates out of here, so you go on up to that drugstore and wait for me. I'll meet you in a few minutes. After you're gone, I'll - I'll find it. I'll find what you're looking for. MUSIC: UNEASY TRANSITION ... THEN IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) So I went up to the drugstore and waited. I waited ten minutes. Twenty minutes. I waited half an hour. Then I went into the phone booth and I called the dance hall. SOUND: COIN IN SLOT ... ROTARY DIAL ... PHONE RINGS THREE TIMES AND CONNECTS (CALLER'S PERSPECTIVE) MUSIC: ABRUPTLY OUT BAILEY: (FILTER) Hello? Silver Shoe. JOEY: This is the sailor who was in there a little while ago. BAILEY: (FILTER) So? What do you want? JOEY: I'd like to talk to that girl I was dancin' with. You know the one I mean? BAILEY: (FILTER) Girls can't come to the phone. JOEY: Why not? BAILEY: (FILTER) 'Cause they're workin', that's why not. JOEY: This girl I was with, she-- BAILEY: (FILTER) I'm tellin' ya, they're all busy. Now, get lost, will ya? JOEY: Now, you listen to me, mister. I want you to put that girl on the phone and-- BAILEY: (FILTER) Now, look, sailor, go stick your head in a pail someplace, will ya, and cool off! SOUND: PHONE DISCONNECTS (CALLER'S PERSPECTIVE) JOEY: Hey! (TO HIMSELF) Oh, no, he won't. SOUND: RECEIVER HUNG UP ... JOEY'S STEPS TO DOOR JOEY: (MUTTERS TO HIMSELF) I'll get to the bottom of this if it's the last thing I do. SOUND: DOOR OPENS ... TRAFFIC BACKGROUND IN ... DOOR CLOSES ... JOEY'S HURRIED STEPS TO DANCE HALL BEHIND-- JOEY: (MUTTERS TO HIMSELF) I found her and I'm not gonna lose her. SOUND: JOEY'S STEPS INTO DANCE HALL MUSIC: LIVELY DANCE TUNE FADES IN ... CONTINUES IN BG JOEY: (MUTTERS TO HIMSELF) I'm gonna find that guy. He's not gonna make a fool out of me. Eh-- There he is. BAILEY: (ANNOYED) Now, look, you back again? JOEY: Where is she? BAILEY: Shoulda taken my advice, sailor. JOEY: Where is she?! BAILEY: What's the matter with you? JOEY: Is she still here? BAILEY: Look, what are you makin' a stink for? JOEY: She said she'd meet me. BAILEY: Who did? JOEY: This girl. BAILEY: Which girl? What's her name? JOEY: It was-- (FRUSTRATED) I don't know! She didn't tell me her name! MURIEL: (APPROACHES, GAILY) What's all the fuss about, sailor? BAILEY: (TO JOEY) Is this the one? JOEY: No! BAILEY: (TO MURIEL) Look, you see this guy in here? MURIEL: Sure! BAILEY: Who was he dancin' with? MURIEL: He wasn't dancin' with nobody. JOEY: What? MURIEL: (TO BAILEY) I gave him a pitch, but he just walked over, sat down by himself at the back table in the corner. He just sat there, starin' at the tablecloth for about half an hour. Then he walked out. JOEY: What are you--? MURIEL: You remember me, don't ya, honey? Ya gave me a cigarette. BAILEY: (TO JOEY) So what did you tell me you were dancin' with somebody for? JOEY: What's the matter with you? You came over to our table. Remember? I was lookin' for somethin'. BAILEY: You're lookin' for somethin', all right, and in just about a minute you're gonna get it. Now, pack up, ya hear me? JOEY: (DESPERATE) No, here-here-here, you see this? MURIEL: (TO BAILEY) It's a picture of some dame. He showed it to me. He keeps sayin' she works here. I think he's cracked or somethin'. BAILEY: (TO JOEY) Ya got the wrong place. She don't work here. Let's go. JOEY: I'm tellin' ya, I was sittin' with her -- dancin' with her! (YELLS, INSANELY) Where are ya?! Are you down here?! Where are ya?! BAILEY: You're really askin' for it, boy, you know that, don't you? SOUND: SCUFFLE ... CONTINUES IN BG JOEY: Get your hands off me! I said, get your hands off me! BAILEY: (WITH EFFORT) Okay, buddy. I've had just about enough out of you. JOEY: Oh, you--! Don't--! MUSIC: BIG ACCENT ... TRANSITION ... THEN OUT BEHIND-- JOEY: (NARRATES) I came to the next morning. In sick bay. On the ship. I couldn't do anything but lay there and think about this girl. I told the ship's doctor about it. DOCTOR: You've been under a great strain lately, Joey. I'm going to recommend that your duties be suspended for a few days at least. JOEY: You want me to stay here? DOCTOR: Yes. JOEY: In sick bay? DOCTOR: That's right. JOEY: (HOSTILE) What, do you think I'm crazy or somethin'? You wanna keep an eye on me? DOCTOR: I said you've been under a strain. That's all. (BEAT) I don't think you've ever really gotten over the shock of Cory's passing away. You've been thinking a lot about her lately, haven't you? I mean, in these last weeks before you even saw this, uh, other girl in the drugstore. JOEY: (CONCEDES) Yes. I have. DOCTOR: Well, isn't it possible that you simply wanted her back so much that--? JOEY: (EXHALES) That my imagination was playin' tricks on me? DOCTOR: Something like that, yes. (BEAT) I want you to stay right there in that bed. MUSIC: EERIE AND ROMANTIC TRANSITION ... THEN IN BG JOEY: (NARRATES) Well, I lay there for about a week. I guess I was just about convinced that's the way it was. I mean, it was the only thing I could think of that seemed to explain everything. One day, they told me I could get up and they brought me my clothes. And then, I found the silver medallion -- in one of my shoes. That's where it must have fallen when she dropped it. There was no question about it. It was the one I had made for Cory. At her funeral, at the reception, I had been the last one in line to look at her. I'd reached into the coffin and placed the medallion in her sweet, cool hand, and gently curled her fingers over it. And then they closed the lid. I never told that to the ship's doctor. Do you think I should have? MUSIC: UP, FOR A CURTAIN ANNOUNCER: SUSPENSE! MUSIC: CHORD ANNOUNCER: You've been listening to "The Silver Shoe," written especially for SUSPENSE by Robert Readick. MUSIC: SUSPENSE THEME ... THEN BEHIND ANNOUNCER-- ANNOUNCER: SUSPENSE is produced and directed by Fred Hendrickson. Heard in tonight's story were William Mason, Toni Darnay, Dick Keith, Rita Lloyd, Gertrude Warner, and Ralph Camargo. Music supervision by Ethel Huber. Sound patterns by Walter Otto. Technical direction by Michael Schoskis. This is Stuart Metz speaking. MUSIC: OUT ANNOUNCER: Listen again next week when we return with "Pages from a Diary," written by Virginia Volland and starring Jim and Henny Backus, another tale well-calculated to keep you in-- MUSIC: CHORD ANNOUNCER: SUSPENSE!